Stella sees one team surprise: 'They may have improved there'

McLaren took home the 2024 constructors title last season, and it looks like they are set to dominate again this year. After the previous season ended so closely together, Stella does not rule out any of the teams joining McLaren at the top. 

Stella surprised by Williams in Bahrain

"Well, I've seen that, in terms of, one lap pace, in addition to the top four, there seem to be, certainly Williams, very competitive. I'm not, I'm really stating the obvious because I'm sure everyone will have seen the data. They have the same data that I look at. And it's interesting that, for instance, Williams was very strong in the second sector, which is not only a sector of breaking-acceleration, it's also a sector with a couple of medium speed corners. So I think this, should say that Williams might have improved in that area. And, over the two days, I've seen, like I said, at times, some other teams in condition to put together quick lap times. I haven't checked enough. Like, in reality, you should look at the GPS overlays. It's not only the sector times or the lap times. You should go through a thorough analysis, but the early indications is that, already last year, going through qualifying sessions, it was quite tight." The team principal told GPblog and others. 

"The Q1 session, it wasn't anymore towards the end of the season, those sessions in which you enter and you think we're going to go through with one set of ties. Just the first run will be enough. Often, we needed to go out again, and it was still quite close from a lap time point-of-view. And what I've taken from these two days is that if anything, it’s going to be even more of these as we start this, 2025 season." The Italian concluded.

This article was written in collaboration with Savannah Lenz.